Gourmet Productions Blog - reviews

English High Tea

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:57:00 -0700

On a recent trip ‘across the pond,’ our office assistant, Brenda, enjoyed a fashionable and traditional champagne high tea in London. Brenda is a bit of a tea junkie and just had to write about her experience!

As a self-proclaimed tea connoisseur, I looked forward to having high tea in London while my husband and I were on holiday. There are many places to enjoy tea, but I wanted the full experience, so after much deliberation I chose The Orangery, located on the grounds of Kensington Palace, the home of Princess Diana while she was alive. We arrived around 3:30pm, a proper time for high tea, and we queued up outside for a 15 minute wait. Once inside, we were welcomed by an impressive pastry display – fruit tarts, towers of scones and chocolate cakes draped in ganache, oh my! We chose to have champagne high tea, which included afternoon tea cakes, scones with Cornish clotted cream and preserves, finger sandwiches, a flute of Chapel Down pinot noir brut reserve 2002 and a pot of Tregothnan Afternoon Tea. It was a scrumptious, loosen-the-belt, meal and we had to be rolled out of the restaurant!

The most special thing about high tea is it’s formality and opportunity to dress up. Unfortunately, a foursome of women from Texas weren’t given a copy of the high tea dress code. How did I know they were from Texas? All four, large women proudly wore matching TEXAS t-shirts and various forms and lengths of denim shorts and tennis shoes. They proceded to order chocolate cake, which they washed down with a tall, cool Pepsi. Not a single cup of tea or scone with clotted cream was ordered between them. I wanted to get up and apologize for our ignorant, bloody American-kind! It was quite the spectacle and I am sure the other guests, like myself, have had fun repeating the story!

Taking a Bite Out of The Big Apple

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:18:00 -0700

During our time off in July, Vicky and I visited NYC for the Fancy Food Show. We use this show to identify trends and hot new products to keep our market and catering business on the cutting edge. We also use this time to eat our way through the many boroughs of the city!

After landing, we hopped a cab for lower, Lower Manhattan and found ourselves in the teeth of Gay Pride Weekend. The sheer volume of people caused a major traffic snarl. Our cab driver’s erratic technique prompted us to de-cab in the middle of the parade route! Unfortunately we faced an epic walk to the restaurant we were meeting friends at – a restaurant specializing in sustainable and organic food. Our high hopes of culinary delights were dashed by food and preparation that was ordinary. We don’t even remember the name of the place (fortunately for everyone involved!).

The next day before the food show we ate at Macaroon Café in the garment district. They had heavenly flavors of peach, pear & blood orange macaroons which we quickly scarfed up after our sandwiches. The ham and gruyere on the French baguette was wonderful. It was a family operation, with one of the owners’ children, probably no more than 10 years-old, sitting in the corner snapping beans and the other son, even younger, was the family money changer! It was a small space, and the owner knew everyone who walked in.

We stayed at the Hudson Hotel, which is a rockin’ hotel located in mid-town, right off of Central Park west. The rooms are smaller than tiny, but the atmosphere more than makes up for it! They have a disco, a beautiful, brick-enclosed courtyard with beds to lounge on and they also serve over-priced drinks, but we don’t fault them for that.

After a glass of Prosecco in the courtyard bar of the Hudson, we walked to Tao, a Chinese restaurant, on recommendation by our Riedel glass rep. This was a showy place with a beautiful 16’ Buddha floating above a reflecting pool, complete with carp. It is one of those “It” restaurants, very touristy (Kanye West had his new CD release party there the evening before). We sat close to the Buddha and felt like we were part of the show, having flash bulbs going off in our face all the time from people snapping pics of the scenery. The food was exceptional – the jumbo shrimp tempura with garlic chili sauce and dragontail spareribs were outstanding. Our server was very likeable, very personable, but wanted to be an animal trainer more than a server a Tao! We skipped dessert and went on to Payard’s Patisserie for ice cream and after dinner drinks. And no surprise, our bartender was an actor and very entertaining.

On Tuesday we took the train to DUMBO in order to visit Jacques Torres Chocolates. We eyed the perfect chocolate chip cookies topped with fleur de sel but it was too early to indulge. The soaring temperatures that day didn’t allow for us to go back for those cookies or other chocolates as they would have melted within minutes. Too bad, because they would have fortified us for the walk over the Brooklyn Bridge.

After strolling to Soho and shopping for new eyeglass frames, we had need of refreshment. Luckily we came across Restaurant Boom where they make a thirst quenching white sangria. With a cool tin ceiling and a distressed map painted on the wall, this place had such local flavor. The TV was playing, what else, the Food Channel. I was smitten with part of the staff’s ‘uniform,’ a t-shirt with the saying “Make Food Not War” I had to have one! Lucky for me, they sold them and I now wear the t-shirt proudly in my kitchen.

That evening we ate at Insieme, an upscale Italian restaurant, where the modest menu is divided into traditional & contemporary. The food was good and the sommelier’s wine suggestions were spot on. So much so, Vicky over-indulged and carried on a wee bit!

The next morning was spent ambling through Central Park before our lunch reservation at Bar Boulud. Stylishly designed and gracious service which is what you would expect from Monsieur Daniel. We enjoyed the Croque Monsieur and a small salad sampler that included a fantastic beet salad with horseradish, a celery remoulade and a delicate carrot salad with tarragon. We got on with the waitstaff very well. Vicky spoke French with the sommelier and our young woman server was very charming. We asked her where she liked to go for meals and it turned into a group project with other servers and the sommelier giving us their advice as well.

After a long nap we headed to the East Village on advice of our waiters at lunch. First stop: Pata Negra. It is the kind of place you want for your neighborhood joint. It is a fashionable tapas bar with fantastic empanada with a red pepper sauce that I am diligently trying to recreate! They sent us to Death and Co for the most interesting cocktails in the city (although the food was not of the same standard). The entrance is non-descript, actually dark and a little foreboding. Once inside though it is definitely hip and the crowd young – Vicky and I were the oldest in the joint! It was very civilized, with soul music in the background and cozy seating. I had an absinthe martini that was well worth the destruction of a few brain cells! Check out their website, www.deathandcompany.com for a complete list of their cocktails.

A good time was had by all and our stomachs are looking forward to next year’s visit.

Bon Appetit!

Simpatica Dining Hall Review

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:48:00 -0700

Vicky and I (Chef Jim) dined at Simpatica this past Saturday night with our friends, Charlie and Lori, who own SP Provisions, a local purveyor we use for our meats. Simpatica served their usual four course dinner with some terrific wines suggestions to compliment each course. The first course was Rabbit and Pancetta gumbo. Charlie's plate was licked clean before you could say “the Big Easy!” It was rich and full-flavored, without being at all heavy. The rabbit was tender and the pancetta gave it a nice smoky flavor. Anton Bauer "Gmork" Gruner Veltliner, the suggested wine with this course, had a wonderful crispness about it that cleaned the palette with each sip.

The second course was Tomato Salad with Viridian Farms Fried Squash Blossoms and Crawfish Aioli. The squash blossoms were in a tempura-style batter giving them a delicious crispiness and the heirloom cherry tomatoes were plump and sweet. This exceptional dish was thoughtfully paired with a Bodegas Naia Verdejo.

The main course was Crispy Pork Belly and Shoulder with Grits, Fava Beans, and Pickled Mustard Seeds. It was surprisingly my favorite. Why? Because I abhor fat on meat. The crispy pork belly was melt-in-your-mouth delicious, while the shoulder was blended with cornmeal and formed into a cake. The grits were fabulous. The chef, Nick Wood, made a point of letting us know there was no butter added to the grits, which in spite of his integrity, was hard to believe. The pickled mustard seeds were more of a condiment for the pork belly and shoulder. We enjoyed a Sangiovese blend with this course.

Our dessert course was a Molasses Syrup Cake with Blueberry Jam and Crème Fraiche, which was a wonderful way to end a terrific meal. I started off thinking I would take a bite or two, but I couldn’t put my fork down! For any dessert wine fan, look for Apolloni Vineyards Late-Harvest Viognier – we love this wine.

At $35 per person, beverage and gratuity not included, this is a truly great deal. Be prepared to make some new friends – it is a communal table.

Chi-town Grub

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:45:00 -0700

This past weekend Jim and I were in the Windy City and we ate at a restaurant that has only been open for two weeks- pretty risky stuff even for seasoned pros like us. The chef hails from Alinea so we were excited for the latest gastronomy. After a semi rough start- music too loud, champagne from the previous day and service way too casual, the experience improved. The sweet curry and brown butter popcorn pre-dinner snack was so tasty!

Graham Elliot's menu is divided into cold/hot/sea/land &sweet. We passed on the caesar salad with the brioche twinkie and opted to try the chilled cucumber gazpacho with crab, shaved radish, whipped avocado and curry foam. This was quite refreshing although the foam was lost after the initial taste. Then it was onto the Kobe beef tartar with baby watercress, bearnaise gelee and what tasted like bacon ice cream. You know what they say, everything is better with bacon. Next, it was onto the creamy Spring Risotto with pearl onions and Truffled Potato Gnocchi with fried egg. Both really tasty dishes that lacked just a pinch of salt although perfectly cooked. We split the Pistachio Crusted Lamb with Israeli couscous and shaved fennel and topped it off with the Gooey Chocolate Brownie with roasted banana, peanut butter. We were invited back into the kitchen to meet the chef and see the kryovac process in action! Gourmet Productions is not quite ready for this process. We still do it the old fashioned way yet who knows what the future holds...